A program aimed at improving the staffing of regional schools has been given the green light for extension by the NSW state government.
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Announced over the weekend, the Drought Entitlement Maintenance Program will be installed until at least 2023 to keep a baseline number of teachers at rural schools, regardless of population fluctuations.
"Every additional teaching job means an extra family in town, shopping at local stores and injecting money into local economies," said minister for education Sarah Mitchell.
The program was originally introduced in 2018 after recognition of the drought's impact on classrooms and the declining number of teachers in affected areas.
Up to 268 schools will be given the program extension, including Adelong Public School, Batlow Technology School, Pleasant Hills Public School, Tumbarumba Public and Tumbarumba High School.
Riverina organiser of the NSW Teachers Federation John Pratt welcomed the announcement, but said it was the first in many steps that need to be taken.
Any strategy towards rectifying the situation, Mr Pratt said, will have to focus on building incentives to live long-term in the country.
"It's great to talk about keeping teachers in the regions, but we first have to get them in the country," Mr Pratt said.
"Teachers need incentives, which means, for example, adequate teacher housing where they are safe to live, and where there are working facilities like air conditioners for when it gets over 40 degrees in February.
"At the moment, that's just not guaranteed."
As a means of recognising the difficulty met by many schools in remote and regional areas, deputy of the NSW Teachers Federation Henry Rajendra also applauds the program's renewal.
"We welcome anything that provides neccesary stability in schools," Mr Rajendra said.
"Populations do go up and down during droughts, that impacts living arrangements and where children can go to school."
In his dealings with schools around the region, Mr Pratt said he has seen it has become particularly difficult to attract specialist teachers to the classroom.
To minimise the problem, Mr Pratt explained the introduction of the Riverina Access Program. In the absence of specific teachers, public schools in the region share classroom resources by setting up online tutorials and lessons.
"It's a great program," Mr Pratt said.
"But it is never quite the same as learning face-to-face."
With the state government's initiative now being renewed, Mr Pratt is hopeful it will have the desired effect on teacher retention. But, he said, he's yet to see the evidence.
"If the incentives are there, and there's a guaranteed position at the school for a particular time, then that's good," he said.
"But are these incentives seeing an increase of attraction and retention of quality teachers in remote schools?
"There's only one way to measure success, but we don't know any more than anecdotally that it's meeting that goal."